Last year, Apple debuted support for digital car keys, which let users lock, unlock, and start their vehicles using a pass stored in the Wallet app on the iPhone. And with iOS 15, there's now Ultra Wideband support on the iPhone 11 and later that will let the feature work without having to remove your iPhone from your pocket.
Car manufacturers need to add the NFC technology to their vehicles to support digital car keys, and so far BMW has been the only manufacturer to do so with Apple's platforms.
It appears as if that's about to change, however, as an Apple configuration file specifying various compatibility criteria for Apple Pay NFC functionality has been updated today to add mention of Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis.
We noted earlier this year that BMW was preparing to support the Ultra Wideband version of Apple's digital car key feature and that Hyundai was reportedly moving to adopt digital car keys on iPhone as well, and that now appears to be coming to fruition.
We've yet to see an official announcement from Hyundai or Genesis about launching digital car key support on iOS, but the manufacturer debuted the feature on Android with its 2021 GV80 and G80 models and indicated that it was working with Apple on iOS support.
You stopped carrying keys around because that's a choice you made. But that still doesn't mean it's a problem. Using a physical key takes literally seconds to unlock a car. And failing that, wireless keys have been a thing for a long, long time and are actually faster than using a phone.
So again, this is one of those progress-for-the-sake-of-progress things that the world just didn't need. It's more for the people making the money off the phones and the cars than it is for you or me, or to solve some sort of real-world problem.
You don't have to "use the phone" to unlock the car. It behaves the same way a passive entry key fob does; walk up to the car it unlocks, walk away it locks. I've been doing it since 2018.
Solving a problem doesn't have to be the only reason for technology to exist. Plenty of things have been invented simply for convenience.
A single device we're carrying has already replaced cameras, music players, computers, wallets, notepads, maps, books, newspapers, boarding passes, etc. None of those were a problem before that but it's much more convenient to carry an iPhone than all that stuff. There's no reason not to add car keys, house keys, and building access cards to that list if it can be done effectively and securely.
You stopped carrying keys around because that's a choice you made. But that still doesn't mean it's a problem. Using a physical key takes literally seconds to unlock a car. And failing that, wireless keys have been a thing for a long, long time and are actually faster than using a phone.
So again, this is one of those progress-for-the-sake-of-progress things that the world just didn't need. It's more for the people making the money off the phones and the cars than it is for you or me, or to solve some sort of real-world problem.
It's a major improvement for me.
1. No need to carry around a key, it's also easier to find a lost iPhone or Apple Watch than a physical car key. The cost of replacing a lost cary key can be a lot. Say I irretrievably lose my iPhone, I can wipe it and replace it (and thus the digital key) easier than replacing a physical key. 2. Not needing to carry a key is great for when I go to the beach, gym, etc. 3. Having to carry round a car key seems archaic to me and something that can be easily replaced with a phone. What if I need to lend my car to a friend? I can easily send him a digital key for a time.
You've not really thought through the advantages it brings.
I completely stopped carrying keys around when I got my Tesla. My phone is the key. The backup keycard, for the rare occasion where my phone dies, is in my phone case.
It's nice to not have keys anymore.
I guess the one small improvement that could be made would be if my Apple Watch also acted as a key unlocking the car. Does Apple's implementation allow that?
The Car Connectivity Consortium today announced that its Digital Key 3.0 specification with support for Ultra Wideband and Bluetooth LE connectivity is finalized and now available to members, including Apple.
In 2020, Apple introduced a digital car key feature that allows users to unlock and start a compatible vehicle by holding an iPhone or Apple Watch near the driver-side door. The feature ...
Wednesday December 8, 2021 3:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
As Apple gears up to release a fully autonomous vehicle, it is continuing to lose key people who are working on the project, reports Bloomberg. Over the last several weeks, three engineers have departed the company.
Apple's chief engineer for radar systems, Eric Rogers, left for Joby Aviation, a company working on electric aerial ridesharing. Alex Clarabut, an engineering manager for the...
Apple suppliers are positioning to manufacture and assemble the company's long-rumored electric vehicle (EV), according to a report from DigiTimes.
Apple Car concept render by Vanarama based on patents filed by Apple The report claims that Foxconn, the colossal manufacturer behind most iPhone models, and Luxshare Precision, the assembler behind Apple devices such as AirPods, are angling to...
Tuesday February 22, 2022 3:59 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has developed the chip modules and packages for the autopilot functions of its rumored Apple Car with the help of an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) company based in South Korea, claims a new report today.
Apple Car concept by Vanarama based on patents filed by Apple OSAT is a service that suppliers often provide to partners that involves semiconductor assembly,...
Thursday September 2, 2021 4:33 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is rumored to be in Asia visiting Toyota as it prepares to lay the supplier groundwork to mass produce a branded car by 2024, according to a new report by DigiTimes.
Apple representatives were said to have met with South Korea's SK Group and LG Electronics last month to discuss Apple Car development, and now Japan's Toyota is being touted as its next potential destination. Apple...
Apple is in the process of selecting suppliers for its long-rumored electric vehicle, according to a report from Korea's ETNews.
The report claims that Apple representatives visited South Korea in December last year to meet with local suppliers, following a preliminary visit in the summer of 2021. In particular, Apple is said to be looking for a number of vehicle electronic parts...
Friday December 10, 2021 4:29 am PST by Tim Hardwick
British vehicle leasing company Vanarama has taken a stab at imagining what the first Apple Car could look like, taking inspiration from iPhones, MacBooks, and other Apple products, and combining them with real Apple patents to come up with a 3D concept render that can be explored inside and out. Given that Apple remains tight-lipped about its electric self-driving car plans, the concept is ...
Sunday January 30, 2022 6:12 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple finally enabled Universal Control in the macOS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4 betas seeded a few days ago, but there are still at least three other features expected to be added to iOS later this year, including support for driver's licenses in the Wallet app.
Below, we have listed new features that are planned for future iOS versions, along with a few features that are set to be expanded.
Dri...
The larger Apple Watch Series 8 model expected to arrive later this year is rumored to feature a titanium casing, raising questions about the future of the Apple Watch Edition.
Yesterday, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that the new, larger Apple Watch model scheduled to launch this year will feature a casing made of "a more durable formulation of titanium to make it extra rugged."
Apple ...
In the M2 MacBook Air, Apple has replaced an Intel-made component responsible for controlling the USB and Thunderbolt ports with a custom-made controller, meaning the last remnants of Intel are now fully out of the latest Mac.
Earlier this month, the repair website iFixit shared a teardown of the new MacBook Air, revealing a look inside the completely redesigned machine. One subtle detail...
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will both feature 6GB of RAM and a newer and faster type of memory, according to a report today from DigiTimes.
iPhone 14 Pro renders created by Ian Zelbo for Jon Prosser The report claims that the high-end models of the upcoming iPhone lineup will feature 6GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a faster and more efficient type of memory compared to older standards. Current ...
The upcoming high-end variant of the Apple Watch Series 8 will feature the device's first redesign in years and a new titanium casing, but will not feature the long-rumored squared-off look, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that this year's high-end Apple Watch model will be "a good bit bigger" than the current Apple Watch...
While the iPhone still uses the Lightning connector for now, Apple has been transitioning many of its devices to USB-C in recent years.
Apple now offers USB-C ports on every Mac that it currently sells, ranging from the MacBook Air to the Mac Pro. Other devices with a USB-C port include the 2018 and newer iPad Pro, 2020 and newer iPad Air, sixth-generation iPad mini, Studio Display, and Pro...
Apple had a Mac Pro featuring the M1 Apple silicon chip ready to ship and launch to customers "months ago," but has ultimately decided to wait for the "M2 Extreme" Mac Pro later this year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has revealed.
In an interview with YouTuber Max Tech, Gurman said that Apple likely held off on the M1 Mac Pro to wait for the more high-end and powerful version with the "M2...
A chip expert who worked for Apple for nine years has left the company to join rival Samsung, Business Korea reports. Kim Woo-Pyeong, according to the report, worked for Apple since 2014 after working for Texas Instruments and Qualcomm in prior years. The report is vague on what Kim's responsibilities were at Apple, only saying he was a semiconductor expert. Apple uses a wide range of...
Top Rated Comments
Solving a problem doesn't have to be the only reason for technology to exist. Plenty of things have been invented simply for convenience.
A single device we're carrying has already replaced cameras, music players, computers, wallets, notepads, maps, books, newspapers, boarding passes, etc. None of those were a problem before that but it's much more convenient to carry an iPhone than all that stuff. There's no reason not to add car keys, house keys, and building access cards to that list if it can be done effectively and securely.
1. No need to carry around a key, it's also easier to find a lost iPhone or Apple Watch than a physical car key. The cost of replacing a lost cary key can be a lot. Say I irretrievably lose my iPhone, I can wipe it and replace it (and thus the digital key) easier than replacing a physical key.
2. Not needing to carry a key is great for when I go to the beach, gym, etc.
3. Having to carry round a car key seems archaic to me and something that can be easily replaced with a phone. What if I need to lend my car to a friend? I can easily send him a digital key for a time.
You've not really thought through the advantages it brings.
I completely stopped carrying keys around when I got my Tesla. My phone is the key. The backup keycard, for the rare occasion where my phone dies, is in my phone case.
It's nice to not have keys anymore.
I guess the one small improvement that could be made would be if my Apple Watch also acted as a key unlocking the car. Does Apple's implementation allow that?
:p
Especially since the whole point of this is to not grab your phone!
:P